18 AUGUST 2017

Bute Vows To Return

Lucian Bute has vowed to return a better fighter after losing his IBF super-middleweight title to Britain’s Carl Froch last weekend.

The 32 year-old southpaw, who was previously unbeaten, was stopped in the fifth round in Froch’s home city of Nottingham on Saturday. Bute will take a long rest before returning to the ring.

"I spent too much time trying to exchange punches with him. I thought that even against the ropes, I would be able to get out and surprise him with my left. I wasn’t able to manage that. The result is that he hit me with more shots and he caught me," Bute said.

"This is my first defeat, but this is not the end of the world. I will return. I need to rest for now, but I know that I have what it takes to return. I lost several times in the amateurs and I always came back. "